Day in and day out, patients tell me they have to lose weight; and year after year, they continue to get heavier. Every year, I tell them the same thing: "You do not have a problem with your weight, it’s your body composition."

Their response is always, "What do you mean?"

The easiest way I can explain is to ask this question: If there were two men, both of equal height, but "Man A" weighs 200 lbs., and "Man B" weighs 150 lbs., who would need to lose weight?

Now, they know this is a trick question, so they pause and reply: "Man B who weighs 150 lbs." To me, this is ironic because they tell me they want to lose weight; however, they choose Man B, who weighs less than Man A.

The reality is this: Man B has a body fat percentage of 30 percent; he has 45 lbs. of fat on his body (150 X .3=45 lbs.). Man A has a body fat percentage of 20 percent; he only has 40 lbs. of fat on his body (200 x .2=40 lbs.). To put this into perspective, Man B must lose at least another 15 lbs. of fat in order to have the same body fat percentage as Man A (150 x 20%=30 lbs.).Therefore, weight is a meaningless measure of health unless a healthy body composition is attained.

Through bad food choices, unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyle and/or weird exercise programs, you have acquired an unhealthy body composition while causing damage to your organs and glands. The higher your body fat percentage, the harder it becomes to lose weight and the easier it becomes to gain weight. When comparing muscle to fat, 1 lb. of muscle burns 50 calories a day and 1 lb. of fat burns 5-10 calories a day. As you get older, this will become a severe health issue with spinal and joint degeneration and/or the probability of getting heart disease and cancer.

This is how the rest of my conversation goes with my patients:

Patient: "So, how can I change my body composition?"

Dr. Cima: "Through nutrition and exercise!"

Patient:"You want me to go on a diet?"

Dr. Cima:"No, you and I will pick the foods you love to eat and that are healthy for you."

Patient: "You mean I can eat foods that I love?"

Dr. Cima:"Absolutely! We will create a SIGNATURE NUTRTIONAL PROGRAM just for you. It will have only your signature to it. You see, you are a creature of habit and will only eat foods that are appealing to you. Together, we will find the healthy and power foods that you will need to build a lean, strong body.Patient: "How will we determine what foods are healthy and powerful for me?"Dr. Cima: "Well, we can guess through trial and error, or we can do it the professional way—through blood chemistry. This will not only show us the best foods to eat, but also give us an understanding of how your organs and glands are doing."

All doctors run blood analysis to determine how your organs and glands are functioning. Then, they give medications based on their findings. For example, doctors would prescribe cholesterol medication for high cholesterol. I go one step further by narrowing the ranges down to see organ and gland problems before they become life threatening. I also use professional supplementation to support those gland and organ weaknesses, thus preventing sickness and disease.